City girl, 3, hurt in pit bull attack

A 3-year-old West Baltimore girl was hospitalized yesterday after being attacked by her grandmother's pit bull dog - an animal that recently had a litter of 10 puppies, police said.

Kyree Paige was in the alley near the rear gate of her home in the 1200 block of Harlem Ave. about 4:25 p.m. when the dog jumped a fence and bit her on the right ear, face and head, said Officer Thomas Perry of the Western District.

After the attack, the dog ran to a third-floor landing in the house and was with its litter when city animal control officers removed it and the puppies, Perry said.

The girl was admitted to Johns Hopkins Hospital's pediatric intensive care unit with injuries that were not life-threatening, but her condition was not immediately known. Perry said the girl underwent surgery that included repair of a bitten ear.

Officer Sheri Albrecht, a police spokeswoman, said the dog had become aggressive since giving birth to the puppies. All were taken to the city animal shelter, where the adult dog was to be checked for rabies.

Upset over the incident, Dr. Peter L. Beilenson, Baltimore's health commissioner, renewed a call to require owners of dogs whose breeds have a reputation of attacking people to have a special license.

He said there were 851 animal bites reported in the city last year - 550 to 600 of them by dogs, and mostly pit bulls.

Beilenson said the fate of the dog in yesterday's attack will be reviewed by the city's Vicious Animal Control Board, in a week to 10 days. As a member of the board, he did not want to voice an opinion before the hearing.